The Terrible Twos Have Arrived

My baby is officially a toddler.

Ok, Fine. Maybe he’s been a toddler for a while now. Supposedly once they start walking they’re a “toddler,” but I was still referring to him as the “baby.”
While he is the youngest and he’ll always be my baby, he has the emotions and attitude of a toddler.
This little guy was born smiling. He was always happy. He made everyone in his wake feel great about themselves because he smiled at them. (We were nice enough to refrain from telling people he smiled that big at everyone.) But now things have changed.
I kept saying, “He’s teething,” or, “He’s going through some growing pains.” It’s gone on too long to be either of those. He’s officially entered the terrible twos.

 Terrible Twos Have Arrived Pouty faced toddler
And although he’s not quite two yet, I think we can all agree, the age doesn’t matter. It’s more of a frame of mind.
He understands the world around him better and he notices when he doesn’t get what he wants. He throws tantrums.
My daughter gets upset, she cries and screams, sure. Her issue is that she’s three going on thirteen. 
But when my son gets upset, he has the type of tantrums parents dread. He gets mad and throws whatever is close by. He grabs his sister’s hair for sport. And if the situation calls for it, he throws himself on the floor and smacks his arms on it as hard as he can. I would be horrified if I wasn’t so busy keeping myself from laughing. If my girl caught me smirking, then she would start imitating him. We don’t need that!
Our morning routine generally involves breakfast, a movie (lately it’s been Cinderella-yawn), then we go outside until lunchtime. That is, if he makes it that long.
You see, he loves nothing more than being outside.
Terrible Twos are Here Sad Toddler
But if I prevent him from going off the cliff in our backyard, he screams.
If I keep him from going in the parking lot, he freaks.
There are plenty of houses around and those screams are loud, especially at 9 am.
When he doesn’t calm down, our outside session is done. And it’s back inside, with an especially dramatic screaming fit.
I’ve gotta say, my favorite time of day is when both kids are crying. One starts for whatever reason, and the other joins so they can fight each other for mama’s attention. Literally. They push and shove each other until I get smacked in the backlash. Best part of my day.
Time outs work for the girl, but the boy is still learning. He doesn’t understand “stay in the time out chair.” Or, maybe he does, he’s just workin’ it.
Whatever the case may be, I now have two crazy toddlers on my hands and there are only a few options for me.
1. Let them win. I can let them take complete control of any mental capacity I have left, and go insane.
2. If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. I can give in and cry and scream right along with them. Maybe throw a few swings and pull some hair out too (my own, of course).
3. Laugh and take pictures. I’m not sure which of my options I’ve listed is the healthiest, but this one appeals to me the most.
I think this phase has been a long time coming, I’m just now finally coming to grips with it.
I appreciate his new-found independence and strong willed personality, but I already miss my sweet boy.
Terrible Twos have arrived cheesy grin
How do you deal with tantrums? I’m always open to new ideas!
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17 thoughts on “The Terrible Twos Have Arrived

  1. mrsmuffintop says:

    Hahaha…I’m with you on the pictures!!!! I laugh when I show my two older ones their tantrums. My youngest isn’t it that stage yet, but when he gets there, I’m going to do the same thing I did with his brother and sister: ignore it. I literally turn my back and force myself not to cave in. It isn’t always easy (and at times I think I DID pull out hair) but it’s effective!!

    • mamabyfire says:

      I’ve shown my daughter pics of her when she’s pissed-I think that’s why she turns away now when she sees the camera. Haha! I need to work on turning my back-Im usually either laughing or stuffing choc in my face.

  2. WearingL says:

    Distraction, for now it’s still working but then screaming tantrums at 1 are childsplay compared to 2. I like 4, it’s more negotiating next to tears. No more screaming in anger

    • mamabyfire says:

      Yeah, distraction used to work a lot better than it does now. I’m looking forward to when my daughter is 4 and we can negotiate. Thanks for giving me hope that she won’t always scream in anger!

  3. maggiemaysgifts says:

    Love the pictures! We are in the whiney twos! Lucky for him, I’m a softie for him, so I’m not as tough as I should be about it. But that whining is definitely grating!
    When they both start at it at once though all you can do it laugh! 🙂

  4. the home tome says:

    We have reached the throwing/hitting/lashing out phase, yikes. Here is what we’ve been trying (although I can’t say they are working!!): Calm Down Time by Elizabeth Verdick (obvi not trying it right during tantrum), breathing, whispering at him, repeating back to him what he is wanting/not wanting so that he knows that he is being heard, and good ol’ goofy distraction! Sometimes, I just let it play out…My hat is off to you since you are juggling two toddlers 🙂 “This too shall pass”

    • mamabyfire says:

      Thanks for the great tips and encouragement! I’ll look into Calm Down Time-if not for him, then for me!! Sometimes it’s difficult to avoid getting worked up myself. Lol!

  5. The Champa Tree says:

    My 9 mo, now I don’t quite know how much of this world around him does he understand, but he throws tantrums too. Besides, he throws things around. My heart weeps! I was never in favor of introducing gadgets, but he seems to want them all the freaking time. Argh!!

  6. Homemade Experience says:

    Terrible Twos: They are a frame of mind. Loved the post. Luckily, my daughter’s tantrum phase didn’t last long. It worked for me to just completely ignore her and act like she wasn’t even there until she stopped. However, my son hasn’t hit that age yet; I hear they’re worse! We’ll see.

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